About 75 percent of what companies produce ends up in a landfill within one year, a national ecosystem expert said Wednesday.
"And that's not just the packaging," said Gloria Flora, the keynote speaker for Ball State University's Earth Week 2006. "Often times, it's the product itself."
Flora, founder of the nonprofit organization Sustainable Obtainable Solutions, emphasized the need for businesses to help sustain public lands and resources during her speech, titled "Green = Gold: Sustainable Business Solutions."
In addition to global warming, problems such as the declining quality of the earth's water, increasing efforts to capture more fossil fuel for energy, the growing loss of species and the diminishing supply of natural resources continue to plague the planet's health and the lives of future generations.
That's why companies worldwide must join the corporate missions of businesses such as Wal-Mart and BP Global, which are striving to achieve greater sustainability, Flora said. Companies must shift from simply making and selling products to providing services and radically increasing the productivity of resources used, she said. Only through eco-effectiveness will businesses reap greater profits and achieve a higher level of human health and greater customer satisfaction, she said.
Wal-Mart is working toward achieving 100 percent renewable energy, creating zero waste and selling products that sustain resources and the environment, Flora said.
"If Wal-Mart can do it, anyone can do it," she said. "And if Wal-Mart does it, everyone will do it."
Anheuser-Busch recently decreased the size of its aluminum can rings by one-eighth of an inch, saving about 20 million pounds of metal from going to waste in one year. Carpet companies such as Interface Inc. are also beginning to lease their carpets, thus saving 10 million pounds of carpet from being thrown away each day, Flora said.
The Dow Chemical Co. has also cut its carcinogens by 70 percent since 1987, and BP remains a leader among natural energy companies that are working toward sustainability, Flora said.
Senior Abby McCoy, president of the Natural Resources Club, said the speech inspired her to help companies that were truly making an effort to improve the environment.
"I would much rather purchase my gas from BP now instead of Exxon Mobil because they are working toward a sustainable future," McCoy said.
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